Session Descriptions--nmea 2016 Sessions are listed alphabetically by primary presenter’s last name. Allen

dhanisak@fau.edu

Environmental observatories are networks of sensors that are revolutionizing the ability of scientists to understand our environment by providing observations at temporal and spatial scales that previously were not possible. These expanding observations will enable a deeper, broader understanding of environmental variability and change not only by scientists by also by resource managers, students, teachers, and the public. Use of observatory data will lead to better informed public policies and enhance our understanding of the interdependence of human society and the natural environment. Use of such observatories by marine educators will be explored through a case study of the Indian River Lagoon Observatory Network of Environmental Sensors (IRLON). The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) is a unique, highly diverse, shallow-water estuary of national significance stretching along 156 miles of Florida's east coast. The IRL’s economic value to Florida is nearly $4 billion per year. Urbanization, excessive freshwater releases, degradation of water quality, contaminant loading, loss of habitat, decline of fisheries, and emerging diseases in marine mammals are increasingly important issues in the IRL, as they are throughout the world’s estuaries and coastal waters. The Indian River Lagoon Observatory (IRLO), based at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, is conducting long-term, multi-disciplinary, ecosystem-based research on this nationally significant estuary. An important component of IRLO is IRLON, a network of ten stations equipped with Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory (LOBO) units and weather stations that provide real-time, high-accuracy and high-resolution water quality and meteorological data in the IRL and St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) through a publically available website (http://fau.loboviz.com/). The network is designed to enable researchers to track environmental changes in the IRL, assist resource and planning managers to make informed decisions, model and correlate environmental data to biological, chemical, and physical phenomena, and contribute to education and public outreach on the lagoon. Researchers and students will be able to observe long-term ecosystem changes and those driven by events such as freshwater water discharges, algal blooms, storms, and drought conditions. After being provided some background material on water quality in estuaries and the technology involved in IRLON, participants in this session will learn how to access, visualize, and download IRLON data, with application to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning in both formal and informal learning communities.

bill.hanshumaker@oregonstate.edu

The Oregon Coast Education Program (OCEP) is a partnership between South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Oregon Sea Grant - Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Portland State University, High Desert Museum, and the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators. OCEP provides teacher professional development workshops and resources for educators to teach about the coast and ocean. Primary funding is provided through NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education and Training program (B-WET). OCEP provides access to curriculum and activities in 3 Coastal Education modules that connect to ocean ecosystems, human impacts, and climate change. Each module is divided into three grade bands Elementary (3rd - 5th grade), Middle School (6th - 8th grade) and High School (9th -12th grade). The resources pulled from a variety of credible sources are packaged in a way teachers can access and use them. The activities outlined in the modules are aligned to standards and can be used to support Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs), providing educators with tools to prepare and engage students in hands-on learning about coastal ecosystems and their connections to the ocean. Teacher trainings focus on preparing teachers to lead student field experiences and use the tools provided in the modules.

susanpha@leeschools.net, @watershedwonder

Elementary students learn about the water cycle and the watershed from these activities. Technology such as GPS units help to map the watershed at the school, then they trace the flow of the water to the sea. Students can learn how simple acts such as picking up litter, using cloth carrying bags and recycling will limit the marine debris in their area. Students can create a campaign to defeat the nurdles (small plastic pieces) and save the turtles, presenting their new knowledge to their classmates.

kelsey.hausman@sealifeus.com; andy.gould@ncaquariums.com

Global climate change messaging can often become a messy topic when discussing it with the public; informal institutions across the United States are implementing the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI) strategic framing to teach informal sites how to best reach guests with this complicated topic. In this session, learn how SEA LIFE Aquarium at LEGOLAND California Resort, Mote Marine Laboratory, and North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher are using strategic framing to deliver talks about climate change in productive conversations. Different challenges arise as messaging is implemented on the floor; whether it is a technical difficulties or the comfort level of the interpreters. Volunteer docents play an essential role in many organizations' efforts to interpret exhibits and interact with guests. How can organizations successfully incorporate training of strategic framing of climate change messaging into their volunteer-led conversations? Mote Marine Laboratory has developed volunteer training strategies, materials and models for strategic framing and climate change interpretation We will share our successes, challenges and lessons learned when working with this dynamic, variable and critical audience. SEA LIFE Aquarium has brought messaging to guests through an interactive Dive Show with a storytelling time that ties a children’s storybook to conservation issues. The aquarium has also incorporated messaging into talks during interactive sessions. Each of the talks uses different conservation metaphors, followed by community level solutions. Multiple levels of staff, from front line interpreters to supervisors have been trained using these methods. Varying levels of training have taken place to best prepare the staff delivering these messages. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is utilizing framing techniques in several ways, most recently through an outreach/distance learning program on ocean acidification. During the program, students learn about ocean food chains and how people are connected to these, and then explore impacts of ocean acidification on these relationships. The program concludes with discussions of how communities can take action to reduce the impacts of ocean acidification. In order to prepare staff to teach this program, they participated in an abbreviated NNOCCI training to introduce them to framing techniques. Learn how these institutions were able to combat the challenges of implementing climate change messaging on the floor from staff and volunteer training to different formats used to implement messaging. Take home tips that you can use to apply NNOCCI strategic messaging into your institution.

susan.haynes@noaa.gov

Telepresence technologies are changing the way the ocean science community engages with multiple audiences, including scientists, formal and informal educators, students and the public. As such, there are a variety of platforms for engaging in learning about why and how the ocean is explored through the eyes and voices of scientists in real time as they are conducing deep-sea exploration of these little known and unknown areas of the ocean planet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Ship Okeanos Explorer conducted expeditions off the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) during the 2015 field season and is continuing expeditions off the NWHI, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands in the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument during the 2016 field season. Novel and existing partnerships are being leveraged to bring video from the seafloor and audio from the ship to Exploration Command Centers in real time into colleges, universities, aquariums, and research centers around the world. This presentation will give a brief overview of the live feed venues for these expeditions, including “hybrid” Exploration Command Centers established at institutions of higher education that were engaged during the expeditions, including Florida Atlantic University, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the College of Charleston and how they can be used to support grade school classrooms to graduate level courses on ocean exploration. Input for the development for an upcoming online course designed around the methods and content for these new learning styles will be solicited during the session. Participants will learn how to use live (and archived) video from the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in their classrooms and will receive education materials that support the Next Generation Science Standards and the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts.

heemsoth@lof.org, @LivingOceansFdn

heemsoth@lof.org, @LivingOceansFdn

Are you interested in rejuvenating your curriculum or are you looking for innovative ways to incorporate marine science into your classroom? Do you participate in a flipped-classroom model or do you teach online classes and need ways to engage your students while at home? Then look no further. Learn how you can use coral reefs to teach about everyday topics, such as density, mitosis, and symbiosis, using the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation’s Coral Reef Education Portal, a state-of-the-art online learning platform. This online portal houses our Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum. Our curriculum will help you bring 21st century learning into your classroom while teaching students about coral reefs and how they are connected to this unique ecosystem. Course materials have been designed to be cross-curricular; they can be integrated into a variety of courses such as art, biology, chemistry, math, environmental science, marine science, and physics. Our curriculum is also a great resource for those of you looking for new strategies to address a variety of different learning styles in or out of your classrooms. The Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum is comprised of 23 units, eleven of which are readily available online and for download. The lesson plans and interactive exercises contained in this curriculum bring free and innovative content, graphics, photos, videos, worksheets, and quizzes to you and your students. Using our online education portal, your students can learn at their own pace, take quizzes, and earn badges while you track their progress. Our curriculum is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts (OL), which aim to help your students understand the ocean’s influence on their lives, and their influence on the ocean. Join us for this hands-on demonstration and discover how to use our custom-built, online learning platform. During this session, you will explore the various types of student and teacher resources that are available for free in the online education portal, and how best to use our curriculum. Additionally, you will learn how to search our resources, set-up classes, and download student quiz scores. We will also be sharing our future plans for the Coral Reef Education Portal and other ways that you can participate in our educational activities. Make sure to bring an electronic device!

missdana@mote.org

Introduction: Today many parents are choosing to homeschool their children. As informal marine science educators, we have an opportunity to provide programming that will increase their ocean literacy while providing valuable social interactions. Mote Marine Laboratory’s twice a month homeschool programs have been successful in helping these students work on team building and social skills while learning about ocean conservation and scientific research. During this hands-on workshop, we will be exploring some fun and engaging STEM activities themed around Mote’s shark research that will encourage students to collaborate, think critically and problem solve. First Activity: Introduction to STEM. Participants are broken into teams of two; each team of two plays against another team of two. Both teams get 2 paper bags filled with random supplies: one labeled A and one labeled B (Team A starts with Bag A and Team B starts with bag B), both A bags are the same and both B bags are the same but A and B are different. Both teams construct a creative prototype from their supplies given. Once finished they must write out step by step instructions as to how they built their prototype. When time is up, they must give their directions to the opposing team who will then attempt to recreate their prototype using materials from the remaining bag using only instructions given. The team who most closely recreates the original prototype is the winner. Second Activity: Shark Cradle Activity “Rock-a-bye Sharky.” To learn about some of Mote’s shark tagging and research, participants are split into “research teams” and given a budget of 20 spaghetti noodles, 10 small marshmallow, 20 large marshmallows and a toothpick. They have to work together to create a “cradle” that would lift a large toy shark. Wrap-up Discussion: As a group we will discuss the challenges faced while working on the activities. Was it hard working in a group? What would have made it easier? How important is it in research to write detailed directions? How important is it to follow directions? Do you feel these are problems you may have to deal with in the real world? What are some things to think about while working in a group? Is there only one way to build or do something? What did you do when you found something didn’t work? Why is it important to be able to critically think and problem solve? Hand-outs: Participants will be provided with activity descriptions and instructions.

Julie@JulieCHenry.com, @julie_c_henry ; @jimwharton

The ocean is facing a critical time - it’s an election year, filled with crazy weather, unprecedented conversation about climate change on an international level, and increasing awareness of how to change behavior to positively impact the ocean (and actually measure the results). What is your role? Every influential leader will continually find themselves at a crossroads in which they must choose to lead, follow, or get out of the way. How do you determine when to act and when to follow? How are you effectively passing the torch to the next generation of leaders? And what are your biggest challenges in furthering the positive momentum for the ocean? Join us for an interactive, crowd-sourced conversation about the realities and pitfalls of leadership for the future of the ocean. Come ready to share your wins, your losses, your dreams and your realities. This session is all about you and generating a collaborative force for good.

Julie@JulieCHenry.com, @julie_c_henry; kbhull@mote.org; @debbistone

The journey of each leader is unique - filled with unanticipated twists and turns combined with purposeful steps forward. Building off our lively discussion last year, this year's panel of experience leaders will discuss their ideas on how to mobilize shared experiences into collective action. Where are the opportunities to support and challenge each other? How can we continue to elevate women in leadership roles? And how can we best operate from our individual strengths to affect the greater purpose of ocean conservation on a global level? This interactive session will be a no-holds-barred discussion with the end game in mind: leveraging the collective power of women in leadership to work together for the future of the ocean.

deborah@naturesacademy.org, @Natures_Academy

Nature’s Academy is a non-profit environmental education organization in Florida that provides educational field trips aimed at enhancing STEM literacy and fostering environmental stewardship. We are a partner in an exciting cross-regional water quality monitoring project with The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) and the Galveston Bay Foundation in which we are using a brand-new website to upload and analyze citizen science data on water quality, biodiversity, and coastal cleanups. This program trains our participants as citizen scientists and engages STEM concepts through the use of collaborative data collection. We upload all field trip data to our Citizen Science Database (gulfcitizenscience.org/nacd_db) where participating teachers can access and integrate the results into classroom instruction. Teachers can continuously interact with all data as each participating school becomes a monitor that contributes to our Citizen Science Database. As 2015 NOAA Marine Debris Program Partners, we emphasize the collection of data on coastal litter and carry out coastal clean-ups with our students. This is one way we use citizen science as a way to engage our students in the scientific process and empower them to find real-world solutions to environmental threats like marine debris. Session participants will learn more about what “citizen science” entails and its educational applications. They will also learn how the Nature’s Academy citizen science project grew from a simple exchange of ideas between colleagues to a functioning online data portal supported by educational and research organizations in multiple states. Lastly, participants will learn how Nature’s Academy is using their citizen science database not only to enhance the field trip experience for students, but to aid classroom teachers in linking real data back to their STEM curriculum. Our citizen science project can serve as a model for future collaborations between educational and research institutions. We will begin with a brief slideshow overview of the background, goals, and uses of the Nature’s Academy Citizen Science Database. Then the presenter will access the online database in order to show some of its features to participants. Then participants will help collect mock water-quality data using samples, sensors, and datasheets provided by the presenter. The presenter will use these measurements to walk through data submission in real-time with the group. The session will wrap-up with a discussion of ways to get involved in citizen science projects throughout the US, as well as a short Q&A period.

dashhills@gmail.com

This would be a "How To" lecture/discussion on the procedure to restore sea oats along the coast. This will include the permitting process, securing sea oats, and then actually planting them. I am also the president of the Orlando Reef Educators Organization and we just recently planted 960 sea oats in Indiatlantic, FL. This presentation will explain what we did and invite the NMEA members to replicate what we did.

hollandk@greenmtn.edu